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Research projects

Some research projects from our broad range of research expertise in health at Massey.

Compassion fatigue in wildlife workers

Massey Wildbase Oiled Wildlife Response has collaborated with social work researchers at Massey to investigate compassion fatigue in wildlife carers.

Oil spill response involving wildlife attracts responders that often have deep connections to animals and the desire to alleviate their suffering. Oil spills are emergencies where wildlife responders work under intense and stressful conditions with animal mortality a reality.

A natural consequence of this is that responders could experience compassion fatigue, the erosion of compassion over time.

Bridey White from Wildbase and Polly Yeung from Massey's School of Social Work are working together to explore potential levels of compassion fatigue in wildlife carers and investigate self-care practices that can help develop resilience and lessen possible long term influences.

Intimacy and sexuality in aged care

International research shows education can help staff in aged care facilities become more open and supportive in their attitudes and beliefs towards older people expressing their sexuality in long-term care. Lead researcher Associate Professor Mark Henrickson, and Dr Catherine Cook hope to extend their study, which demonstrated that a significant number of staff, families and residents are managing complex situations without clear processes to protect residents’ rights and safety.

Māori at greater risk of harmful occupational exposures than non-Māori

The impact of ingesting multiple carbohydrates during long-distance triathlon performance

Triathletes must rely on ingesting carbohydrates while exercising to maintain the carbohydrate-energy required for intense efforts. Choosing the correct blend and form (liquid or solid) of carbohydrate for their bodies can be the difference between minutes or seconds off their times.

This study involved testing 74 male triathletes taking part in two half-ironman races in Taupo and Tauranga over the summer of 2013-14. One group of athletes took a fructose mix and the other control group a standard mix of carbohydrates.

Student research

Bolaji Lilian Ilesanmi-Oyelere's research project looks into the relationship between New Zealand diets, bone health and the gut microbiome. She believes that the dairy industries, the scientific community and women in general will benefit from the outcomes of this research. Her project is supervised by Professor Marlena Kruger, Professor Jane Coad and Professor Nicole Roy.

Working with an iwi provider in the health sector fuelled Dr Carole Fernandez's desire to make a positive contribution to health service delivery for Māori. Her research demonstrated the application of tikanga-based principles and values used in collaborative processes when working with Māori and whānau, and also when working at the interface with mainstream service providers.

Dr Acushla Dee O’Carroll's 3-year PhD study centred on how social networking sites affect Māori culture. She interviewed Māori youth, conducted iwi case studies (one based in South Taranaki, the other based in London) and surveyed 139 Māori living overseas for more than 12 months. What she discovered was that Facebook and Skype are key for modern Māori to maintain and strengthen traditional relationships. She was awarded a prestigious 2013 Fulbright-Harkness New Zealand Fellowship for her outstanding record of achievement and leadership.

Dr Claire Minton, a lecturer at Massey University’s School of Nursing, explored the experiences of patients, their families and healthcare professionals during the trajectory of a prolonged critical illness, for her PhD thesis. Her research provides insights into the complexity of care during prolonged critical illness, which can result in interventions, education and research targeted to improve outcomes and experiences.

Dr Sharon Henare is a Research Officer in the School of Health Sciences. Her current research investigates the effects of foods and food components on the function and health of the gastrointestinal tract.

Kyle Southward's PhD research is investigating the effects of key genes on how individuals respond to caffeine during exercise. His research aims to better understand individual responses to caffeine so that tailor-made supplementation programmes can be made for individual athletes rather than simply using generic guidelines. His PhD is supervised by Associate Professor Ajmol Ali,
Dr Kay Rutherfurd-Markiwick and Dr Claire Badenhorst.

Dr Matt Miller invented the Brake Power Meter, which automatically measures braking power and time spent braking while you ride. For his PhD, Dr Miller and his supervisor Dr Phil Fink spent more than four years researching the importance of braking on mountain bike race performance and rider fatigue.

Parkpoom Siriarchavatana's PhD research is looking for the bioactive substances from green shell mussels to prevent osteoarthritis. To achieve this, he is conducting an osteoclast culture for screening the promising chemical fraction in mussels. Later, he will evaluate his findings with animal studies. His PhD is supervised by Dr Fran Wolber.

The focus of Saima Rizwan's research is to understand complex pathogenic mechanisms in osteoarthritis and to identify potential targets for GLM (green-lipped mussel) therapy in osteoarthritis. Her project is supervised by Dr Fran Wolber.

Lycopene from tomatoes has many health benefits, from protecting against prostate cancer to promoting bone health. However, the lycopene in standard red tomatoes is poorly absorbed by people. Some golden-orange tomatoes have a different form of lycopene that is more easily absorbed. Umani Shanika Walallawita’s PhD project compares the bioavailability and health benefits of heritage golden-orange tomatoes to conventional red tomatoes on protecting against bone loss in postmenopausal osteoporosis. Her project is supervised by Professor Julian Heyes, Professor Marlena Kruger, Dr Fran Wolber and Dr Ayelet Ziv-Gal, and is supported by the Heritage Food Crops Research Trust and a Massey University College of Health doctoral scholarship.

Janice Lim's PhD project investigates the hypoglycaemic potential of several plant extracts easily accessible in New Zealand that may help in improving blood glucose homeostasis, particularly in people diagnosed with prediabetes. She also studies the underlying mechanism of action of plant extracts in improving blood glucose response. Her project is supervised by Associate Professor Rachel Page.

Awards and recognition

Massey University graduate Dushanka Hettige has been awarded the 2018 Bernice Kelly Award from Dietitians NZ for the most improved full-time dietetic student, from either Massey University, University of Otago or University of Auckland.

Associate Professor Kieran O’Donoghue was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for research by Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW). As well as receiving this Quality and Innovation Award, he shared the overall ANZASW trophy.

The prestigious Dietitians NZ Award of Excellence has been awarded to Dr Carol Wham from Massey University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Dietetics.

Professor Mark Henrickson is a staunch advocate for the rights of sexual and gender minorities. He was the first New Zealand social worker from New Zealand to deliver the prestigious Eileen Younghusband Memorial Lecture at the 2016 World Social Work Conference in Korea.

Dr Rosie Gibson from Massey’s Sleep/Wake Research Centre has been awarded nearly one-quarter of a million dollars by the Health Research Council of New Zealand to investigate sleep and its relationship to the health and wellbeing of older New Zealanders, highlighting both the personal, sociological, and economical impact of sleep problems.

Dr Octavia Calder-Dawe from Massey University’s SHORE and Whāriki Research Centre, has been awarded nearly $250,000 from the Health Research Council of New Zealand to investigate what wellbeing means to New Zealand youth.

Professor Sally Casswell, Co-Director of the SHORE and Whāriki Research Centre in Auckland, has been awarded a project grant of $1,188,701 over 36 months by the Health Research Council of New Zealand. Her project is entitled Assessing and comparing national policy to reduce harmful use of alcohol.

Professor Jeroen Douwes, Director of Wellington’s Centre for Public Health Research, has been awarded nearly $5 million by the Health Research Council of New Zealand to investigate work-related disease.

Professor John Potter, from Massey University’s Centre for Public Health Research, has been named in the top one per cent of most cited scientists in the world. Professor Potter’s career has focused on nutrition, other environmental and host factors, and genetics in the aetiology (cause of disease or condition), pathobiology (the biology of disease), and early detection of cancers and other chronic diseases.

Dr Octavia Calder-Dawe from the SHORE and Whāriki Research Centre was awarded a Marsden fast-start grant worth $300,000 for her research project titled 'Relentlessly positive? Exploring the imprint of positivity imperatives on the affective lives of young women.'

Associate Professor Chris Wilkins has been awarded $836,000 to lead a research project titled 'Dark side of the Net: Exploring and modelling the impact of online illegal drug markets', alongside Dr Monica Barratt, University of New South Wales, Professor Jochen Mueller, University of Queensland and Dr Marta Rychert, SHORE and Whāriki Research Centre. The team will analyse the way illegal drugs are sold online, using encrypted websites on the ‘darknet’.

The second edition of Pharmacology in Nursing: Australian and New Zealand won the Tertiary (Adaptations): Student Resource Category at the Educational Publishing Awards Australia. Head of the School of Health Sciences, Associate Professor Rachel Page wrote 17 chapters.

Dr Collette Bromhead was appointed chief executive of the New Zealand Organisation of Rare Diseases (NZORD). The health advocacy organisation represents the interests of New Zealanders affected by rare disorders by promoting research and partnering with clinicians to improve diagnostics, treatments and support.

Associate Professor David Rowlands from the School of Sport and Exercise was honoured as the winner of the 2017 Gatorade Sport Science Institute (GSSI) - American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Sport Nutrition Award for his study entitled, Multiple-Transportable Carbohydrate Effect on Long-Distance Triathlon Performance.

Dr Dennis Slade has been given the extremely rare and prestigious endorsement of his research in physical education and sport, through a special supplement publication of his research. This is the first time in the 65-year history of the New Zealand Physical Educator journal that a special supplement has been published, with all the articles written by the same first author.

Dr Kathryn Hay was awarded a Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching Award for 2018. This places her among the country’s top 10 tertiary teachers awarded. Awards are presented to those who demonstrate years of commitment and support for learners that go far beyond good teaching practice.

Professor Andy Martin was awarded a Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching Award for 2018. This places him among the country’s top 10 tertiary teachers awarded. Awards are presented to those who demonstrate years of commitment and support for learners that go far beyond good teaching practice.

College

Massey University's interdisciplinary approach to research means that schools and institutes from a number of colleges contribute to health research. However the majority of health-related research is conducted by people within the College of Health.

Research Centre for Māori Health and Development | Te Pūmanawa Hauora

Riddet Institute

The Riddet Institute is a premier centre for fundamental and strategic scientific research. Its area of expertise is at the intersection of food material science, novel food processing, human nutrition and gastrointestinal biology.

SHORE and Whāriki Research Centre

The SHORE and Whāriki Research Centre is funded through external research grants and contracts to undertake public-good research of relevance to the health and social sectors. The centre consists of two multidisciplinary research groups working in a Treaty of Waitangi partnership model to produce excellent research with the aim of improving health and wellbeing in Aotearoa, New Zealand and globally.

Sleep/Wake Research Centre

The Sleep/Wake Research Centre is New Zealand’s first laboratory dedicated to research and education in circadian physiology, sleep science, and their applications. We are motivated to find science-based solutions to the challenges created by the restricted sleep and circadian disruption that are endemic in our 24/7 society.